[h2]Summary[/h2]
Firearms: Source is a HL2 modification and a remake to the old Firearms that resided on the old HL1 engine. Much has changed in the time it's been gone and it's all for the better. The public version is still in 1.0, but the team is hard at work at a 2.0 version that will be hosted on Steam. It will be bigger, badder, and fun as hell.

Firearms: Source is a high adrenaline immersive arcade shooter based around a modern warfare time period based around two fictional factions duking it out across a plethora of unique fictional environments. With a large variety of unique and iconic weapons, the player can load out with the arsenal of their desire with very few restrictions. Furthermore, they can define a specific role to play in throughout the game through our skill system that allows them to gain new abilities throughout the course of the game that allows them to become combat medics to a heavily equipped grunt leading the charge. The high paced action and arcade gameplay lends itself to both casual and competitive players.

[release][h2]Weapons[/h2]Pistols:
From reliable 9mm semi-automatics to massive .50 caliber revolvers, the two traits all handguns have in common are their small size and low cost. A well-utilized backup pistol can make the difference between an unexpected last minute victory and an unavoidable massacre, reversing an otherwise disastrous situation with the element of surprise. With so many options for such a small pricing range it’s impossible to know if a cornered opponent will draw a well-rounded 9mm, a .45 ACP with its limited magazine and range, a devastating but woefully inaccurate machine-pistol, or an enormous magnum revolver with its unmatched accuracy and damage offset by a limited capacity and interminable reload. The particularly… eccentric soldier can even opt to carry nothing but a plethora of handguns to the front lines, making use of suppressors, optics, and other attachments to even the odds. It goes without saying that in skilled hands, a well-placed bullet is lethal no matter the size of the gun it was fired from.

Personal Defense Weapons:
A relatively recent designation, the Personal Defense Weapon is a compact, concealable automatic with a high rate of fire intended to defeat body armour in close quarters where a pistol may not have the raw damage potential to “deter” hostile attention, yet a full-sized submachine gun would be too large and expensive to field. Ideal as a backup for snipers and machine gun operators, a PDW’s primary weakness is its limited accuracy and range even compared to an SMG, nearly worthless at a distance yet monstrously effective in close quarters. Due to the category’s value of size and shock value over prolonged utility, often a PDW will be issued with magazine sizes smaller than their SMG cousins, compensated slightly by a quicker and easier reload. Paired with heavy armour and supportive fire or smoke cover, these weapons can also be made an effective primary armament, only matched by shotguns in their raw CQC damage potential.

Submachine Guns:
Like in a family of Italian mafiosi, submachine guns are the older, heavier, slightly classier cousins to the Personal Defense Weapon, often firing pistol cartridges from extended magazines at more controllable rates to serve as front line weapons. They also perforate small “family” restaurants. Sporting better range despite only average accuracy, SMG’s are cheap, solid primary weapons small enough to leave room for special equipment such as explosives without sacrificing protection. Equipped with a suppressor and used in this fashion, they are the mainstay of covertly inclined operatives. Roughly on par with shotguns in terms of cost, lightly-armoured soldiers also routinely use SMG’s as secondary firearms to fight their way to an ideal position before deploying a highly specialized weapon such as a sniper rifle, machine gun, or grenade launcher.

Shotguns:
With a design nearly as old as the concept of a firearm, shotguns have historically excelled at one thing: dealing extreme damage in a single shot without regard for finer details… such as accuracy. Be it in the form of a heavy hitting pump-action design or a semi-automatic room clearer, they are the unrivaled sovereign of front-loaded close range damage, often able to down an enemy in a single shot. Beyond this limited range their reliability falls off sharply, easily outmatched by SMG’s and other weapons. This is not always the case however; unique examples such as the KS-23 may fire vast armour-piercing slugs through a rifled barrel at long range, functioning similar to a hybrid pump-action sniper rifle. Shotguns are often used as expensive backups or paired with a reliable ranged weapon such as a large pistol or accurate SMG to compensate for their extreme limitations in open areas – a potent and versatile combination.

Carbines:
Effectively no more than cut-down assault rifles in practice, carbines are smaller automatic rifles intended for use at medium and close ranges. While still using weaker rifle rounds, they offer high mobility and recoil control at the cost of accuracy and damage at longer ranges, making their role a hybrid of assault rifle and SMG. More compact and cheaper than a standard assault rifle, they allow a margin more space for other equipment without sacrificing its power at closer ranges, while at the same time they lack the mobility of an SMG. Carbines are best suited to medium-close range where a lack of recoil matters but lower accuracy does not. In specific cases a grenadier or sniper with a light rifle may be able carry a carbine as a secondary weapon, sacrificing most of their armour and all other equipment for its versatility.

Assault Rifles:
Assault rifles are the standard well-rounded platform – the meat (and possibly steak sauce) of any military force. Like the corpses they generate, they are disturbingly common, numerous, and not remarkably different from one another. Striking an even balance between the range and accuracy of a battle rifle and the control and compact size of a carbine, assault rifles fire intermediate-sized cartridges and leave enough room for a modest backup weapon or piece of support equipment. As rifles they have a large range advantage over SMG’s yet are slower and far less stable when fired on the move, able to lay down hectic suppressive fire or carefully snipe away at distant targets with moderate success as needed. An assault rifle’s greatest advantage and weakness are one and the same: it neither fails or excels at any one role.

Battle Rifles:
The result of a past era of weapon design, battle rifles are predecessors of the modern assault rifle, firing large cartridges between a mixture of semi- and fully-automatic mechanisms with a focus on powerful, accurate shots over longer distances. The length, weight, and high recoil of an average battle rifle make it ill-suited for combat at closer ranges where constant control of the weapon and room for a backup is more important than raw power or accuracy, while the larger round sizes mean diminished ammo capacity compared to assault rifles – a drawback only felt at such ranges. However, experienced soldiers able to pace their shots or fight down the rifle’s recoil can routinely outmatch anything short of a sniper at a range while staying fully mobile, as their rounds carry further, hit harder, and penetrate thicker surfaces.

Machine Guns:
Nearly as specialized as sniper rifles, machine guns are the least mobile category of weaponry available to standard infantry, requiring a favourable stance and a bipod just to function at their full potential. Once deployed however, this “potential” is immediately obvious in the form of lacerated heaps of bodies paving the way to the gunner’s forward position. High rates of fire, belts containing hundreds of rounds, and large ammunition make for a lethal combination, limited by the immense size and cost of the weapon, its lack of mobility, and a limited firing arc when set up. Ideal as a fire support weapon both for defending areas and securing advances by the squad, a well-utilized machine gun can often save as many lives as it takes. Lighter machine guns with smaller round boxes such as the MC51B Vollmer and RPD are also available, providing far more mobile support with less sustained firepower.

Sniper Rifles:
With comparatively slow rates of fire and abysmal utility in any engagement under medium range, sniper rifles are the most specialized weapon available, trading everything for single pinpoint-accurate shots much in the way that a shotgun does in CQC. Some sniper rifles are light and mobile, just lethal enough to kill through a helmet, while others like the M82 are massive and unwieldy, difficult to relocate and requiring a bipod to mitigate their recoil. Semi-automatic DMR’s with weaker rounds and more ammunition for followup shots are also common. As the rifle’s peak effectiveness is dictated almost entirely by the skill of the user, there is nothing on the battlefield that inspires terror quite like an experienced sniper, able to deal death unseen and from afar. Because of their heavily situational and range-reliant nature, snipers almost always carry a well-rounded backup weapon such as a PDW or SMG in order to defend themselves, though a large pistol and a claymore mine is also ideal in cases where the only approach to a sniping position can be defended by the trap.

Explosives:
For demolitions both material and humanoid in nature, the common explosive charge remains one of the most potent tools in the military arsenal. Be it in the form of an M67 frag grenade thrown around a corner, an insidious claymore mine trap, or a ranged bombardment from an M79 grenade launcher sweeping enemy positions clean, infantry-deployed explosives are an integral piece of the puzzle that is any modern armed conflict. Their room-clearing nature is the natural antithesis of low-mobility weaponry such as machine guns and sniper rifles, while smoke grenades and flashbangs allow otherwise disadvantaged attackers to close distance and debilitate their enemies, tipping the scales heavily in their favour. Specialized support infantry often carry multiple types of grenades and mines with only a modest SMG or shotgun as their primary armament for this explicit purpose.

Melee Weapons:
Alas, melee weapons. Undervalued to a near-criminal extent in an age where war is waged with ballistic lead and fire, a sharpened blade to the unmentionables (all of them) is no less fatal now than in the distant past. Commonly equipped as an ancillary backup weapon for those soldiers experiencing a severe and unfortunate dirth of bullets, a simple combat knife is often the deciding factor when all else fails. Quick to deploy, negligibly light, and always to hand if needed, the surprise potential of the DV-2 is outmatched only by rifle-mounted bayonets. To a much greater extent than firearms, the true potential of a melee weapon lies with the wielder. In skilled hands a quick thrust and cut can silently and instantly dispatch an opponent regardless of their armour or armament, making it the most potent stealth tool in the arsenal. To a soldier with enough subtlety and guile, no other weapon is required. For these… unique individuals, a trusty machete is the perfect tool for cutting apart obstructions both inanimate and otherwise – such as spines!
[/release]

[release][h2]News[/h2]Sounds of Silence - 06/03/11
The time has come to finally start announcing some details of our attachment system, and I feel the suppressors would be a great place to start. Attachments can be obtained on weapons through our new load out menu, which has been completely been redesigned. In order to outfit your firearm with an attachment, or suppressor, you simply select the weapon you want and purchase the suppressor attachment for an additional 5 credits. Unlike the original Firearms, suppressor in FAS will not be determined by skills, nor will they be detachable. If you want a suppressor on your firearms, equip the suppressor, otherwise don’t. Additionally, every attachment in FAS will have its drawbacks as well. We want to make sure that attachments are used to not necessarily add an overall improvement, but more shape the gun into a new weapon that is just as balanced as it was before. While outfitting your weapon with every attachment known to man will still be possible, it could severely hinder the performance of your weapon. Read More

Audible Immersion - 05/27/11
Sound plays a major role in video games. That is why the audio team here at Firearms: Source (FAS) is extremely passionate about producing a quality audio experience for your enjoyment. We believe that the sound in a video game should represent physical reality for the purpose of realism, but also allow for creative artistic expression. Firearms: Source strives to be a source of realistic weapon functionality in electronic interactive art, and it is the mission of the audio team to have FAS sound accurate and detailed as well. Read More

Hey Good Lookin' - 05/20/11
Today, we will be showing off our new player models, as well as our new environment based uniforms. With the inclusion of overhead icons, as well as remodeling our player models to have distinct silhouettes, we have decided to make the move to have separate camouflages for each team based on the environment they are in, splitting their uniforms into desert, woodlands, and snow patterns. Both teams will have different colored camouflage as well as distinct patterns to help you discern between the two teams. In addition to the environment based camouflage uniforms, we have also added the ability to customize your character and will also be increasing our transparency and continue a steady stream of updates by moving our developer blogs to the website and posting them on ModDB as well. Read More

Sprinting Into Action - 05/05/11
Well here we are again; it’s always such a pleasure. As everyone leaps, sprints, and solves their way through Portal 2, we developers have been doing the same (with development during our breaks, of course). Thankfully, we have now all beaten the game and are back to work on FAS 2.0. As you can see, we have a brand spanking new website developed by Adam Brzozowski and Ben Sholk, and a whole new branding courtesy of Brad Durham. We’re hard at work improving the quality of FAS on all fronts, ensuring that you guys will have an awesome experience upon release. Give the website a look around and check out all the new media and information available. For science. Read More
[/release]

[release][h2]Media[/h2]

[/release]

One of our fellow moderators works on the mod: SteveUK!
One of our fellow uses works on the mod: The Vman!

Last time I played a month ago there were no servers with players, I don't know if it was completely dead or my connection was screwed. The guns in this are probably the greatest I've seen in any game, let alone mod.

I can't wait for 2.0. 1.0 is fun with the latest patches, but after seeing the amount of effort and work they've put into 2.0, holy crap, that's amazing. The chromatic dispersion as a pain effect on the HUD looks really nice. And attachments, new weapons, balance! FFZZZZZT.

I can't wait for 2.0. 1.0 is fun with the latest patches, but after seeing the amount of effort and work they've put into 2.0, holy crap, that's amazing. The chromatic dispersion as a pain effect on the HUD looks really nice. And attachments, new weapons, balance! FFZZZZZT.

Eh, looking back that's kind of backwards. Like what CoD would be if Activision didn't force them to develop it with money in mind.

Also, I can run GMod and such, CSS, TF2, etc but not L4D2. Can I run this, ya think? Installing now, regardless.

Edited:

Just got done testing all the weapons in an empty server.

My god, this is possibly the greatest attempt at an arcade modern shooter I have ever seen. The guns, while lacking a bit in the animation department, are insanely well made. Very optimized, too. Looks about 100x better than CSS on similar settings.

This game/mod deserves more people playing it, because it is great. I just started playing a couple days ago, and I've already got three people hooked on it. Hopefully, once FAS 2.0 launches on Steam, it'll get the popularity.

8 people active? I remember playing about two months ago, it was very active

I'm not talking about playercount, I'm on about gameplay and stuff. It's rather terribly balanced and just feels lacking. That said, I did play it from release until its recent demise and had a fair bit of fun.